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Jason Statham
Jason Statham (b. 1972) is an English actor, known for his roles in the Guy Ritchie Crime films Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels; Revolver (film); and Snatch (film). Statham also appeared in supporting roles in several American films, such as The Italian Job (2003 film), as well as playing the lead role in The Transporter, Crank (film), The Bank Job, and War (2007 film) alongside martial arts star Jet Li. He plays Jensen Aimes/Frankenstein in Death Race. Biography Early life and diving career Statham was born in 1972 in Shirebrook, Derbyshire and later moved to London, and then Great Yarmouth, where the family business was running a bathroom stall. Jason played football for the local Grammar school (1984-88) but his real passion was diving. He was the second son of a lounge singer and dressmaker-turned-dancer who ran a Black market operation. He grew up, initially, following his parents' trail to master the art of Street theatre. Statham developed an interest in sports, Diving in particular, which led him to become an excellent athlete in the sport; he finished 12th in the World Championships in 1992. Although Derbyshire at heart, Jason Statham has made it known he is a keen follower of English Football side Nottingham Forest FC, in the Coca-Cola Championship, and regularly attends matches when he is not filming and he was also a member of Britain's National Diving Squad for twelve years. Afterwards, he became a model for the clothing brand French Connection (clothing) where he was introduced to then-fledgling British director Guy Ritchie. Ritchie was working on a film project and needed to fill the role of a street-wise con artist. After learning about Statham's past, Ritchie cast him to play the role of Bacon in Ritchie's breakout 1998 hit, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. Cast alongside popular actors Brad Pitt, Dennis Farina and Benicio del Toro, and with the movie earning more than $80 million in box-office revenues, Statham was able to break into Hollywood and appeared in two movies in 2001: Ghosts of Mars and The One (film). Statham was offered more film roles, and in 2002 was cast as the lead role of driver Frank Martin in the action movie The Transporter, in which his background in martial arts enabled him to do most of his own stunts. A sequel, Transporter 2, followed in 2005. He also appeared in supporting roles in The Italian Job (2003 film) (2003) (in which he also played a driver) and Cellular (film) (2004), and had a cameo in Collateral (film) before taking the lead role in Crank (film) (2006). Statham compares his role in Crank to his real life in the September 2006 issue of Maxim Magazine In 2005, Statham was once again cast by Ritchie to star in his new project, Revolver (film), and also starred in In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale, which was released in the U.S. in 2008. His most recent release was the crime thriller The Bank Job. Personal life Statham dated English model and actress Kelly Brook for seven years but the couple split when she met actor Billy Zane on the set of Survival Island. In 2005, Statham dated former Bardot singer Sophie Monk but they are no longer together. Filmography External links *Jason Statham does Gumball 2007 *Stathamology: Jason Statham Movie Reviews Category:Death Race Film cast